Ventilating apparatus for mines.



,1).- F. LEPLEY.

VENTILATIN G APPARATUS FOR MINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19. I91]- Patented Mar. 11,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

0fiZ9pZe %nventor Attorny s Witnesses v n. F..'LEPLEY VENTILATING APPARATUS FOR MINES. APPLICATION mz'qssn. 19. m1.

Patentd Mar. 11, 1919.

2 swans-sash 2 fiflepzegmentor Witnesses Attorneys UNIT ED STATES:

PATENT OFFICE.

VENTILATING APPARATUS FOR MINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 11, 1919.

Application filed September 19, 1917. Serial No. 192,164.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itlrnown that I DANIEL F. LEPLEY', a citizen of the United States, residing at Connellsville, in the county of Fayette and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Ventilating Apparatus for Mines, of wh'ich'the following is a specification.

This" invention relates to ventilators particularly designed" for use in ventilating mines, it being'more especially an improvement upon the structureshown in Patent No. 720264: issued to' mep n February 10', 1903. Her'etofore it has been the practice to dig an extensive excavation for the accommodation of an air chamber located beneath the wind boxes placed onth'e surfaceof the ground, such an arrangement being shown in my patent before mentioned. One of the objects of the present invention is to do" away with this excavation and arrange all parts of the ventila'tin the surface of the ground, thereby materially reducing the cost of installation.

Anotherobje'ct of'theinvention is to pro-f vide an exhaust stack having a novel ar-v rangement of reversing doors whereby the delivery of air will be practically the same whether the fan is beingused for forcing air into a mine or for exhausting'it therefrom.

A still further object is to' pr vide improved" means for deflecting the course of the air leaving the fan casing the deflecting door employed for this purpose] having means whereby it can beplaced in either of two positions quickly and without'necessitating; stopping the operation of the fan and without requiring men toenterthe air chamberto properly position parts.

A further object isto'provide guides for the deflecting door which will form an airtight connection between the'door and the walls of thestructur'e; v

- With the foregoing and other objects in view" which will appear as the description Iproceeds'the invention resides in the'comination and arrangementof parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed itbeing understood that changes in theprecise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can'be made'within thescope of what is claimed without departingfrom thespirit'of the invention;

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the inventionis shown.

mechanism above In said drawings Figure 1' is a vertical longitudinal section through ventilating apparatus embodying the present improvements, the parts being shown, in full lines, arranged to create a suction from the main shaft and, in dotted lines to directly blast the air into the shaft.

Fig; 2 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1, certain parts being broken away andwthe gates being shown by full lines, in position to establish communication between the main shaft and the peripheral outlet of the fan casing, and by dotted lines, to establish communication between'the main shaft and'tlie air intakes of the fan casing.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, '1 designates a fan casing or housing the outlet 2 of which opens into an air conduit 3 mounted on the foundation of the apparatus and which conduit is of greater width'than said outlet of the fan casing and opens downwardly into the shaft 4 of the mine to be ventilated. The top of the outlet portion of the fan casing opens into the tica-laxes 9 located at the ends of the' side walls of the fan casing or, in other words, at opposite sides of the outlet 2 of said casing', These gates can be swung by any suit able means provided for that purpose and are adapted either to close communication between the'conduit 3 and the air boxes'7,

as'shown by full lines in Fig. 2, or to come together at their free edges, as shown by' dotted lines. in Fig. 2, and thus close communication' between the outlet 2 of'the fan casing and the conduit 3 and open communication between said conduit and the air boxes.

No particular means has been shown for actuating the gates, but it is to be understood that any preferred means can be used. S ecured to the sidewalls of'the fan casing close to the point of connection between said casing and'the bases of the stack are sealing" cleats 10 which canbe made of wood and" which are inclined downwardly and back? wardly from the front end of the top outlet opening of, the fan casing. These inclined cleats 10 extend to the curved lower ends of cleats 12, which can be formed of metal, and which are inclined upwardly and rearwardly and come against the back wall of the base 5 of the stack. A metal strip 13 is arranged transversely upon said wall of the base of the stack and extends throughout the width thereof, said strip being inclined clownwardly away from the wall at a slight angle and constituting a sealing strip hereinafter pointed out.

Hingedly connected to the front wall of the top opening 11 is one member 1- of a sectional door, and hingedly connected as at 1% to this section 1 1 is the end section 15 of the door. These sections are so proportioned that when the door is in its normal or lowermost position the section 1 1 will extend downwardly partly across the outlet 2 of the fan casing so as to constitute practically a continuation of the front wall of the base 5 of the stack. At the same time the other section 15 of the door will bear against the bottom of the fan casing at an angle to the section 1 1. Thus communication between the interior of the fan casing and the outlet 2 is out 0E and air projected by the fan 16 in casing 1 will be deflected upwardly along curved lines to the base of the stack.

cable 17 or the like is connected to the free end of the section 15 of the door and extends upwardly to an operating element 18 which is in the form of a windlass or the like. Thus by taking up the cable or other flexible connection 17 the section 15 will first swing upwardly relative to the section 14 and without coming against the rotating fan until said section 15 comes substantially into line with the flexible member 17. A further pull upon the member 17 will result in the member 14 being drawn tightly against the cleats 10 while the member 15 will be drawn upwardly against and be deflected by the curved lower portions of the cleats 12 until positioned under the strip 13 and will then be come wedged between the strip 13 and the adjacent wall of the base 5 of the stack. Thereafter filling blocks 19 may be placed between the curved portions of the cleats 12 and the angle formed by the members 14 and 15 of the door so as thus to seal the door and prevent leakage of air from the fan casing into the stack. With the door thus held in raised position the air, instead of being blown upwardly into the stack as before described. will be directed through the outlet 2 into the conduit 8.

with the foregoing construction and arrangement of door the area of both outlets can be made practically the same and air will flow as freely into the stack as into the conduit. Furthermore, it is possible to adjust the door without necessitating stopping the rotation of the fan. Nor is it necessary for men to enter the conduit to adjust and secure the door.

Obviously by shifting the gates 8 laterally against the outer sides of the conduit so as to cut ofi' communication between said conduit and the air boxes 7 and by then raising the door 115 so as to out 01f communication with the stack, air will be directed by the fan 16 from the boxes 7 and the intakes 6 to the conduit 3 and thence downwardly into the mine shaft. Air can be supplied to the boxes 7 by opening doors 20 which are located at the rear ends of the boxes. Should it be desired to ventilate the mine by sucking the air from the shaft, the gates 8 should be adjusted so as to come together to form a V and thus close communication between the conduit and the outlet 2. The door 1%15 can then be lowered to the position indicated by full lines in Fig. 1, and when the doors 20 are closed the rotating fan will suck air through the openings 6 from the air boxes 7 and the conduit 3 and force the air outwardly and upwardly into the stack.

Ventilating mechanism such as described is particularly advantageous because it is practically entirely above ground, can be quickly installed without the loss of time and the expenditure incident to the formation of an excavation such as heretofore re quired. Furthermore, the parts can be readily adjusted without stopping the operation of the fan and to meet any varying conditions which would necessitate a change in the method of ventilation.

What is claimed is 1. In a ventilating apparatus the combination with a fan casing having an end outlet and a top outlet, of downwardly converging cleats upon the side walls of the top outlet, a sectional door hingedly connected to the top of the end outlet, means for elevating the door to position its sections against the respective cleats to close the top outlet, and a sealing strip extending along one wall of the outlet and cotiperating with said wall to form a pocket for the reception of the free end portion of the door when raised to closed position.

2. A ventilating apparatus including a fan casing having a top outlet and an end outlet, a door hingedly connected to the top of the end outlet and including hingedly connected sections, said door normally bearing against the bottom of the casing to close the end outlet and direct air from the casing to the top outlet, cleats converging downwardly upon the side walls of the top outlet, a sealing strip extending transversely of one wall of the top outlet, and means for swinging the sectional door upwardly to open the end outlet and to position the sections of the door against the respective cleats to seal the top outlet, the free end of lib the door being insertible between the sealing strip and the wall to which it is connected.

3. A ventilating apparatus including a fan housing having a top outlet and an end outlet, a door hingedly connected to the top of the end outlet and including hingedly connected sections, the free end of the door normally bearing against the bottom of the casing to close the end outlet and direct air from the casing to the top outlet, front and back cleats converging downwardly upon the side walls of the top outlet, the back cleats having their lower portions curved to constitute deflecting means, a sealing strip extending transversely of one wall of the top outlet, and means for swinging the sectional door upwardly to open the end outlet and to elevate the free end of the door against and along the deflecting portions of the cleats, said door sections being movable against the respective cleats to seal the top outlet, the free end of the door being deflected into engagement with the sealing strip.

4. The combination with a fan casing having an end outlet and a top outlet, of front and back cleats upon the sides of the top outlet and converging downwardly, a curved deflector between the cleats at each side of the outlet, a sectional door adapted to close the end outlet, means for shifting the door to open the end outlet, said door, during such movement being partly folded, being drawn at its free end against the deflectors, and brought to position against the front and back cleats, a sealing strip upon one of the walls of the top outlet forming a pocket for the reception of the free end of the door when raised against the cleats, and sealing blocks insertible between the deflectors and the angle portion of the raised door.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL F. LEPLEY.

Witnesses:

IVY E. SIMPsoN, P. A. RooKEnm.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

